detox

BC Construction workers to be drug tested

The Province reports that in British Columbia an agreement has been reached between employers in the construction industry and the unions representing construction workers which will require workers to submit to mandatory drug testing.  Specifically it is noted that:

"Workers must agree to be tested for alcohol and nine drugs, including marijuana, when they're hired by a company and periodically afterward."

It's hard to comment on a policy without seeing the particulars, but based on what is outlined in the article it appears that unionized construction workers in BC now have to agree to a drug test post-offer of employment but prior to work start date, they have to agree to random drug testing with no apparent justification required and they have to submit to a drug test after any workplace accident to determine if impairment through drug use played any part.  

This one's a legal hot potato, without doubt.  Until there is a definitive statement from the Supreme Court of Canada regarding the validity of drug testing under human rights law, employers enter into a legal quagmire when they decide to implement drug testing in their workplaces.  That's probably why it is being touted that this policy was reached with the union's agreement.  Makes it sound more authoritative.  It is certainly the first time I've come across a drug testing policy fully agreed to by a union in Canada.  Most often the case is that unions balk at drug testing, for the reasons set out in the article.  But, as is also noted in the article, whether the union agreed to the policy or not is irrelevant to a determination of the policy's validity under human rights law.  

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